Stockbridge Students Make a Splash in Underwater Robotics at Innovative Vehicle Design Challenge

Students from Stockbridge Jr/Sr. High School place first in Design and Innovation at this year’s Square One Education Network’s Underwater Innovative Vehicle Design (IVD) Challenge. Students from Stockbridge Jr./Sr. High School and other schools enrolled in Square One Education Network’s STEM-focused curriculum come together to test their knowledge of marine robotics at the organization’s Underwater Innovative Vehicle Design (IVD) Challenge. This year’s event marked the 10^th annual IVD Challenge for Square One, and took place on Saturday, March 10, 2018, at Roseville High School in Roseville, Mich.

The new ROV

Representing the next generation of technical talent, 29 teams of third through 12^th-graders competed in various challenges using underwater remotely operated vehicles which they designed and built for the competition. These challenges encourage fun, problem solving and teamwork and follow a civil engineering theme, including a traffic jam, an underwater expressway, an underwater surveying task, and an underwater IVD drag race.  During the competition, the underwater vehicle teams are evaluated based on design innovation, engineering and craftsmanship, performance, ambassadorship, presentation, enthusiasm and use of social media.

“Our team was very excited to be part of Square One’s Underwater Robotics IVD Challenge this year,” said Bob Richards, the team’s faculty mentor.  “Participating in this event has sparked our students’ imagination and reasoning abilities to create vehicles that can effectively move underwater, providing them with practical application of their STEM classroom learning.”

This year’s team consisted of Seniors Madi Howard, Colin Lilley, and Faith Whitt along with Sophomore Kael Bunce and Freshmen Chelsey Asquith and Hailey Howard.